Blue Moons Honeymoon

While I wait for my professional photos to come back so I can start recaps, I thought it might be fun to share some of my favorite moments from the Blue Moon honeymoon!

Even though I’m a control freak, I gratefully accepted Mr. Blue Moons’ parents’ offer to plan our honeymoon for us as their wedding gift to us. Lots of ideas were tossed around, from Iceland to the Dominican Republic, but ultimately Mama Blue (my mother-in-law) wanted to keep the honeymoon a big surprise until after she booked it.

She settled on a week-long stay in Cozumel, Mexico, and when we found out, we could not have been more excited. Mr. Blue Moon has traveled extensively, and we have taken several trips together to the mountains and beach, but we’ve never traveled internationally together before.

We ordered omelettes, fruit, and sweet rolls (sort of like doughnuts, but not as sugary) for breakfast every morning, and also enjoyed some amazing meals at the resort’s restaurant. I basically lived on fajitas and this roasted cheese for the entire week, and I’m not sorry. The swim-up bar and unlimited margaritas, strawberry daiquiris, and piña coladas kept Mr. Blue Moon and me well hydrated, too!

After such a busy few weeks leading up to the wedding, we spent a good bit of time snoozing in beach hammocks, reading (I finished A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, and it was fabulous), and relaxing in the water. And it was such beautiful water! The sunsets were to die for.

Being the Blue Moons, though, we did want to spend at least one whole day exploring the island…and that, my friends, is how I ended up in the passenger side of a 25-year-old rental Jeep that had trouble starting every time we parked somewhere, cruising around an island with very few stoplights at speeds upwards of 80 miles per hour, with Mr. Blue Moon at the wheel. We ended up starting the day at Punta Sur, an eco beach with a historic lighthouse, a museum, and some pretty extraordinary reefs.

Mr. Blue Moon and I were determined to climb to the top of this lighthouse, but it was not to be. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but I am deathly terrified of spiders. I was bitten on the neck by a brown recluse when I was in high school, I had an infestation in one of my college apartments, and seeing a spider much bigger than a pencil eraser is enough to send me into a tailspin. Before we got to Punta Sur, this exact conversation happened.

Me: “Mr. Blue Moon, do you think tarantulas live in the wild here?”

Mr. BM: “I doubt it, this is an island.”

Me: “If I see a tarantula in real life, you might have to carry me out of here. Because I will most definitely freak.”

Mr. BM: “You won’t see a tarantula.”

Halfway up the lighthouse steps, someone shouts from the top, “Please tell the Americans there’s a tarantula on the middle landing!”

We were standing on the middle landing. I looked down. IT WAS RIGHT BY MY FOOT, Y’ALL! RIGHT BY MY FOOT. IT WAS BIG.

I’m super sorry I didn’t snap a picture to share with you all, but I was too busy trying not to pass out in a 110 degree lighthouse with a giant hellspawn spider right next to my foot. The hyperventilating and tunnel vision began. Mr. Blue Moon was pouring his water bottle on me shouting, “Stay with me so we can get you down!” I realized just how much of a good one I married as he half-carried, half-dragged my pitiful self down 90 lighthouse steps. Though I was all for driving directly to the airport and getting a flight back to a tarantula-less place, Mr. Blue Moon sat me down, got me a Coke, kindly did not join the locals in raucous laughter (I’m sure I was acting beyond ridiculous, but my mind just totally shut down), and found people with parrots to cheer me up. He’s the greatest.

I think I look pretty good for just surviving a near-death experience.

He also sprung for snorkeling, because I just really needed to get off land for a hot minute (the park ranger assured me tarantulas don’t swim, especially in salt water). I was a little nervous because I’ve never snorkeled and I’m not the best swimmer, but at that point I was sold on the fact that Mr. Blue Moon could probably save my life again if he needed to, and we did it. I’m so glad we did! We ended up swimming about a mile and a half, which I never would have believed I could do, and saw all kinds of reefs, fish, and a massive stingray. That’s what I love about Mr. Blue Moon—he brings out the best in me and makes me feel like I can do things I wouldn’t normally do.

We also visited the Mayan ruins at San Gervasio. This place was fascinating. It used to be a fertility temple that every Mayan woman had to travel to by canoe in order to have many children. Since we’re both history buffs, we really enjoyed exploring this part of the island. And we made more animal friends!

The Thursday before we left was Mr. Blue Moon’s birthday, so we went out to dinner and explored Cozumel’s nightlife. From shots to shopping, it was basically all my favorite things wrapped into one awesome package. I also made sure Mr. Blue Moon got an awesome birthday card!

All in all, it was an amazing honeymoon and the perfect gift from my in-laws. I feel like we got a good mix of adventure and relaxation, and we would definitely travel back to Cozumel if we could! It was super hard to come back to our home in Mississippi and real life. Mr. Blue Moon immediately went back to work, and I’ve been getting ready for my school year to gear up starting this Monday (ew). We both start graduate school at the end of August, so post-wedding has all been a whirlwind of work and getting ready for school. If it were up to me, I would just lay around on the beach forever!